I posted this elsewhere, but I thought I'd just put it here on its own since some here perhaps will not have read it before. It's an old interview (October 2012) that Collider did with RA right after the trailer came out and obviously before either of them had seen the finished film. It's a wondeful interview, and gives us a better look at RA's Thorin. The question and answer regarding Thorin's darker side is particularly interesting to me, especially when he talks about the effect the dragon sickness will have on Thorin.

Probably most of you have already read this, but I'm so far behind the times, I'm just catching up! So here it is. Enjoy!

Interesting stuff. I'm about Thorin's height. You can see from this article that Richard Armitage really put a lot of thought into playing Thorin. Žęs ofereode, žisses swa męg - that has passed, so may this.

Sounds like Armitage has done some very thorough personal research. Even though the films can't reference The Silmarillion, his comment seems drawn straight from Chapter 2 (Of Aule and Yavanna) on the dwarves' origin. Love how much RA respects the source material and his character.

Thanks for posting this link! ...one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green... The Hobbit

Love the reference to source material. Interesting parallel to how Viggo got into Aragorn's skin through combat as well. I think PJ casts for brains and temperament as well as screen appeal. ...she took the point at once, but she also took the spoons.

I always loved the dwarves, maybe becoz is the most unlucky race on Middle Earth, they were ugly, imperfect and very close to be destroyed just because of that. Of all the races, the dwarves had less attention in Tolkien writtings

"Dear friend good bye, no tears in my eyes. So sad it ends, as it began"Queen

At first i thought he had basically read the Tolkien Gateway article on Dwarves but to know that the Nauglamir was once called the Nauglafring and actually remember that is impressive - seeing as it comes from The Book of Lost Tales part two!

Thank you for that link. And he even names the necklace correctly from The Book of Lost Tales. He has certainly gone deep into the weeds in researching the tangled history of elves, dwarves, and the long unwinding of the curse of Mim. I didn't think I could be even more impressed with RA as a devoted Tolkien fan, but now I am! You are right -- adoRAble, indeed! ...one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green... The Hobbit

I did not keep up with much during the filming, so to me it was new; I really enjoyed it! Love RA. Thorin is awesome! " He has just as much reason to go to war as you do. Why can he not fight for those he loves?"

Thanks everyone, for your thanks! I think it's great to read this stuff AFTER we've seen the film as well, because we have now a sense of the character, how they are portrayed, etc. and it's so interesting to read the actor's reasonings and interpretations and the process by which he brings the character to life.

And yeah, RA is as amazing as the character he plays. (Well, except for the hair. Nothing equals Thorin's hair! ) "Age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good." Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher)

I really enjoyed it when you posted it in the other thread. I had not read it and I really enjoyed seeing RA's interepretation and understanding of the characters and Thorin in particular. The interview was fairly extensive too. A very in depth.

That's a great interview. The more I read about him, the more he impresses me as someone who really gets Tolkien and his own role. He reminds me a bit of Viggo in his passion for and dedication to his character. I just love how well-read he is in Tolkien's works; the short video where some of the cast (and PJ) are asked about Tolkien trivia is hilarious -- only RA comes up with anything, and without blinking he goes into a lengthy discussion of the Nauglafring. Thorin is in really, really good hands.

can't agree with you more... the perfect Thorin and yes it's like he learned from Viggo too, to know your Tolkien for these interviews :) siiighh... can't wait to see extras on the EE disks, full of RA interviews........ [thud]